|
Miles of fires leave I-95 motorists to copeBy DAVID BALLINGRUD © St. Petersburg Times, published July 3, 1998 For the most part, motorists seemed to make do Thursday. Traffic moved slowly but steadily, according to the Florida Highway Patrol. "It's heavy during rush hour, as you'd expect," said FHP Lt. Mike Guzman. "But it is moving without major problems. People are being cooperative." Nevertheless, he said, "it's a good idea to not travel through the area this weekend . . . people should plan to do something local." And non-residents were urged to stay away from the fire zone. From an airplane flying at 1,500 feet midday Thursday, no major traffic problems were visible. A few vehicles moved easily along I-95, with towering pillars of smoke in plain view. Further north, the interstate disappeared beneath an enormous column of smoke fueled by dozens of fires. "We don't know how long I-95 will be closed," said Guzman. "Things don't seem to be getting much better." Late Thursday, I-95 remained closed from its intersection with Interstate 295 at the southern boundary of Jacksonville south to where it meets State Road 528 (the Bee Line Expressway) south of Titusville. The northbound lane of I-95 was open from St. Augustine, however. U.S. 1, another primary north-south road that generally follows the I-95 path, was closed throughout much of Volusia and Brevard counties. The Florida Highway Information Hotline (800-342-3557) is being updated as conditions change. Steve Stafford Sr., a travel adviser working the phones from a St. Petersburg AAA office, said he was swamped with calls from people seeking a way around the trouble. There is a network of small roads in Florida," he noted, "but you don't want to send callers there." Instead, AAA and the FHP recommend that southbound travelers take U.S. 301 to Interstate 75 and follow I-75 to the Florida Turnpike. Northbound travelers can reverse the route. Tolls have been temporarily suspended. If driving on any road becomes a danger, Guzman said, the FHP is obligated to close it. Ann Peery, spokeswoman for the state's emergency operations center, said fire has been jumping I-95 and U.S. 1 in recent days, and at times smoke reduces visibility to zero. "It's especially dangerous out there for inexperienced drivers," she said. "People slow down or stop and then get rear-ended." Parts of I-95 are driveable, but state officials say leaving parts of a major highway open while closing others is confusing and frustrating and eventually causes more traffic jams as drivers struggle to get on and off the road. The fires and road closings will mean a big change in the July Fourth weekend in Daytona Beach. The Pepsi 400 NASCAR race -- scheduled for Saturday -- has been postponed until Oct. 17. The race was expected to draw 150,000 to 180,000 fans. Tom Leary, resident manager of the Daytona Beach Hilton, said a few race fans had begun to trickle into the city, but most were expected Thursday and today. He said about 80 percent of his rooms would have been taken either by race fans or workers. Now some of the lost reservations are being taken by firefighters and people who have had to leave their homes. "This is normally a very busy time for us," said Larry Fornari, president of the Volusia County Hotel and Motel Association. "People are trying to transfer their reservations to October, but it's not easy for families who have kids in school." There's a lot of room availability, he said, "so we're trying to help house fire and emergency personnel and those being evacuated."
Need roads information? The Florida Highway Information Hotline (800-342-3557) is being updated as conditions change.
Business |
Citrus |
Commentary |
Entertainment
|
Home
eople on Florida's east coast were advised to stay home this holiday weekend as fires and thick smoke closed a 125-mile stretch of Interstate 95 and parts of other main roads.
